Join us
Membership

Search

Help us keep the lights on Support us
The Bristol Cable

Listen: Bristol Unpacked on the ‘free speech crisis’ at universities with Bristol Uni Free Speech Society’s Harry Walker

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs
Neil Maggs / Maggs Smart Media Rosa Eaton Adam Cantwell-Corn
Neil Maggs / Maggs Smart Media, Rosa Eaton and Adam Cantwell-Corn

The government are introducing a new law claiming to defend freedom of speech, amid an alleged crisis on British university campuses of ‘cancel culture’ and de-platforming. But is it really the case that freedom of expression is being unduly restricted in our society? Or is it an exaggerated distraction from bigger issues? Harry Walker of Bristol Uni’s Free Speech Society has been at the centre of the debate. Neil sits down with Harry to thrash it out.

Subscribe to the Cable newsletter below and on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to get the latest from Bristol Unpacked.

(Can’t see this? click here)

Get our latest stories & essential Bristol news
sent to your inbox every Saturday morning

NEWS YOU OWN
CAN'T BE BOUGHT

Become a member of The Cable to keep news independent.

Join now

Comments

Post a comment

Mark if this comment is from the author of the article

By posting a comment you agree to our Comment Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related content

No to Section 60

Racist and traumatising: inside a Section 60 suspicionless stop and search operation

Officers searched innocent children, disproportionately targeted people of colour and undermined their anti-racism reforms during a 48-hour police operation in February. Their narrative that it was an effective knife-crime deterrent, done with consent, is misleading.

Sean Morrison
Sean Morrison

Edition 44

Bristol’s Sikh community: A family history

With the arrival in 1961 of Bristol’s first copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy text, we trace the history of the city’s Sikh community and the family it began with

Priyanka Raval
Priyanka Raval

Hope Is Around The Corner

Photo illustration of a man in a bright jacket next to a map of Bristol

The bravest conversations are with those we love

After coming across a far-right YouTuber trying to provoke people for content, Nikesh asks: is it better to engage or ignore? And how do we have hard conversations with those closest to us?

Nikesh Shukla
Nikesh Shukla

Callouts

Want to help shape the future of The Bristol Cable? Stand to be a director.

Want to enable independent news media stand out from the noise of mainstream media? Stand to be a director of The Bristol Cable.

Read more
Siddhartha Kurapati
Siddhartha Kurapati and Sam Kinch

Edition 44

Collage of photos of a man in robes and a turban outside a large townhouse and sat with a group of people

Clifton, Celtic revivalists and a quest for unity: The history of Bahá’í in Bristol

The Cable explores the curious history of why a Georgian terrace in Clifton has become a pilgrimage site for followers of the Bahá’í faith, and speaks to present-day believers

Sofia Lambis
Sofia Lambis

Edition 44

A smiling man and woman wearing high-viz vests

Humanism in Bristol, where faith no longer defines the majority

More than half of Bristolians say they have no religion — but what do people believe instead? Bristol Humanists show how non-religious ethics find a place in public life

Marcus Smith

Features

Illustration of a person looking at a mirror and seeing a row of people smiling back

A new trans tipping point

In the 2010s, trans characters were a regular part of popular TV shows. With that progress going into reverse, trans Bristolians reflect on the lack of representation in modern culture

Hannah Vickers
Hannah Vickers

JOIN OUR
NEWSLETTER

Fearless, independent
reporting you can trust.

JOIN OUR
NEWSLETTER

Fearless, independent
reporting you can trust.